Free Ravens
by Fher34
Summary: Dreaded Fact #2 stated that she had kind of, maybe, like, you know,...kidnapped him. The horror! So far, being kept in cautivery by one Hyuuga Hinata was proving to be...quite interesting to the Avenger wannabe. Chapter 2: The Missing Heiress. SasuHina -Genin Fic
1. Chapter 1: This is My Beginning

Summary of _Free Ravens_:

"I will not give up," she said after her cousin landed the last hit in their fight during the Chunnin Exams and damaged her heart, resulting in the dismiss of her ninja career. "I will have power," he said after his thirst for vengeance reached a high peak and he ran for strength to one of the Legendary Sannin. "I will break all bonds," both of them bowed when they reached the Fire Country's border without looking back. SasuHina.

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Free Ravens

by _Fher34_

**A SasuHina Story**

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Chapter 1: This is My Beginning

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"_She can no longer be a ninja_," the voice had informed her father, Hyuuga Hiashi, outside her hospital room three weeks ago.

"_Her heart is too weak for the physical endurance life as a ninja requires; if she continues to be a shinobi, she will die_."

Death.

A common concept spoken of since her early childhood. Not unusual for a kunoichi and certainly not a recent discovery in the Ninja World. No, death had surfaced since the beginning of time and was to extend into the future. It would never stop and it would never go away.

She had meet death after her encounter with Hyuuga Neji, had been able to almost touch it, taste its bittersweet flavor, smell its unique aroma, after her heart failed her during the fight.

It had once been beating strongly inside her chest, but it couldn't stand against dangerous chakra enhanced palms.

A few hits and her career was over.

It took her long hours to fully understand the meaning of such a statement and when she did...Hyuuga Hinata did not cry.

There was nothing to mourn, nothing to grief for, no reason for her to bow her head in shame as she stood before her Father when she arrived to the Hyuuga mansion after being discharged.

She had fought and given her best. She had gone against a prodigy, received a killer blow, and survived.

_Survived_.

She was alive. Not dead.

"_I 'll never give up and I never go back on my word._"

Uzumaki Naruto had taught her that everything was possible. The dead-last, the shunned, the weak, had risen over his classmates and passed to the last round of the Exams and achieved strength.

She would too, get stronger, that is, not because the blond occupied a warm place in her heart but because he spoke truth.

He had proven everyone around him _wrong_.

He wasn't going to be the only one, she had decided as she watched the light of a brand new day enter through a window after she woke up from her four-day coma.

So she prepared herself mentally and built in her resolve.

Team 8 and Kurenai-sensei weren't allowed to see her in the neither in the hospital or her home.

"_She needs to rest,_" was the excuse her Father had instructed the guards to give if anyone came asking for her.

And it worked. No one, not even Neji, saw her after the Exams. No one dared to go against the Hyuuga, except Yuhi Kurenai.

Hinata had heard her barging into the compound, demanding to see the Hyuuga head.

She had never feel so proud of her teacher and mother figure than in that occasion and blind hope had soon began to fill her because she trusted her teacher with her life; her complete faith was on her.

A part of her broke when not even her mentor was able to come for her. Instead, Hinata listened from her place in the locked door of her room and watched with her Byakugan the confrontation between a Yuhi and a Hyuuga.

It ended with Hiashi ordering members of the Branch family to take Kurenai-sensei out and ban her from entering.

That was the last straw for the heiress, so she moved, and planned, and found, and saw, and smiled.

Smiled in irony because though she had yet to receive the Caged Bird Seal(something that had been schedule for next month), she was already making her way out of that curse. Smiled in sadness because she was going to leave behind all of her bonds, break them, and hurt the few people that actually cared for her. Smiled with mute giddiness because she was going to start again, right from scratch, and she would prove everyone in the clan that ever doubted her–her Father, most importantly, –_wrong_.

So she prepared herself, and waited.

She did not leave her room that fateful day except to sneak into the kitchen for a very important task when one of the servants 'forgot' to lock her door, but she still had everything she needed.

Three of the Hyuuga scrolls were placed in her backpack along with one of her own and other equipment she would need for her quest.

Her quest for power.

She had determination, something that required courage and high amounts of true strength, confidence –something she had never truly known until now –, and that in no occasion was to be underestimated.

She knew this, and it comforted her.

But she also had hate, though not hers. The poisonous resent from her family, so much contempt from the Main House and Hyuuga Neji, she had it all...

"_And I will use this hate to my advantage_."

Hinata felt her heart lift as soon as the night enveloped and fell over the Village Hidden in the Leaves like a blanket of smoky darkness, depriving it of light.

That night, the moon hid behind an orb of black, signaling the new moon of the month, marking her new beginning.

The beginning of her new life, a start in which shy, useless and weak Hyuuga Hinata, doubtful heiress of the Hyuuga Clan, was to be no more.

This time, she would just be Hinata and not a heiress, not weak, not a disgrace.

Hinata was going to be known. The real Hinata, the one who was gentle and kind but not afraid of protecting those she held dear. She would become strong, and that power was going to be used for good and it would also define her. She would train and leave her place of birth; some might later think her a coward, but the decision of leaving was perhaps the hardest thing she'd done in her life. The temptation of staying put and accept her destiny taunted her but she grounded her feet and gathered all of her iron-hard resolve.

"You would have make a great leader, Hinata-sama," Ko whispered to her when he appeared at her door at the designed hour and she bowed down on her knees to him in gratitude. Gratitude because it was him who was going to help her plan and suffer because of it and endless thanks because he generously _cared_.

Ko, instead of being surprised or scandalized by her action, bowed in return and added, "The Cadet Branch is with you and will be when you're ready to come back, Hinata-_imoto_."

And though it was a painful goodbye, Hyuuga Hinata still blushed and smiled.

"I'm sorry for doing this t-to you, aniki," she apologized but Ko shook his head and laid on the floor in a fatal position.

"Whenever you're ready, little sister," was the amused reply.

Hinata's eyes brimmed with tears. "I-I didn't wa-want to do this," she whispered wetly before she shut her eyes and activated the Cursed Seal.

To his credit, Ko did not make a noise, but he trashed on the floor in pain before his body went completely still and his mouth released silent, tortured screams.

It didn't last more than four seconds, but those few seconds dragged like centuries from Hinata's perspective.

Her one-hand seal barely deactivated when she was at his side, inspecting him for any additional damage.

"Ko!" she cried as loud as she dared, placing his head on her lap. "Ko, please be okay."

Her answer came in the way of him wincing and taking her hand. "Go," he hissed.

Hinata placed a quick kiss to his temple and laid his head on the floor. He was right; she had to hurry.

With great concentration, the veins around her eyes widened and pulsed with well-controlled chakra, subtle yet enough for her vision to sharpen as her Byakugan awakened and searched for the guards in the compound. She had traced her escape route several times now, planning with details and a genius strategy that could be called fool-proof, but giving it a last glance couldn't possibly hurt.

Despite the humid and hot season, she wore a black turtleneck with the sleeves reaching a little bit past her elbow, her mesh shirt underneath for good measure, and black three-fourths ninja sweats with new dark shinobi sandals, all of which were concealed under a navy blue coat she had found in her mother's room. A amethyst-colored pendant hung from her neck with a thin, white ribbon. Her Leaf headband laid on atop her pillow with a note right beside it to serve as a departure gift to her sister.

It took her two tries to get herself moving, and when she did, she quickly turned back, taking hold of the letter she had left behind in which she explained her reasons for taking such a drastic decision.

She stared at the sealed envelope for a moment before ripping it to shreds, the words she had thought over for the last few days destroyed. Taking a new sheet of paper from her desk, she scribed something, slowly, and was in a sudden movement gone.

When the Hyuuga Main House awoke two days later in confusion and the last meal they consumed was found to be spiked, Hyuuga Hinata was far away, her scent washed away by the crying rain, a phenomenon that had occurred in a dry month, as if lamenting the departing of the child of the sun.

And in a single piece of white, clean paper, the unmistakable scrip of the heiress appeared with a promise that left one Hyuuga Hanabi speechless:

_**One day, I will come back. One day, I will change the Hyuuga.**_

_**-**_**Former Heiress of the Hyuuga Clan & Kunoichi of Konohagakure no Sato**

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Months Later

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He knew he was weak.

His chakra, all his reserves, was mostly gone, spent in the battle fought with his ex-teammate in the Valley of the End.

But that battle was long over, and he was nearing Sound. He was close. He could feel it. The rain hadn't stopped. It persisted to fall against him, berating and irritating as it dragged him down with its weight. And the damn thing was working.

It had been a couple of days since he last slept and the Cursed Seal of Heaven had been used and reached its second stage, leaving him almost vulnerable to any attacks. He'd known the opening the second step of the seal was going to be hard, hell, it was supposed to kill him for all he knew. But it hadn't.

The aftereffects, however, were a completely different matter.

Uchiha Sasuke was _exhausted_.

Each of his limbs ached with coldish fire and he grunted, panting for breath, even if it was like icy needles piercing his parched throat. His trembling hadn't ceased since yesterday and that was beginning to annoy him and slightly worry him as well. He dind't recall ever feeling this tired.

Why couldn't his body cooperate for once and obey his commands? The raven-haired Uchiha was barely walking, slowly making his way forward, drenched from head to toe and splattered with mud.

"I ha...I have to get there...I have to," he grunted, though the grinding of his words would have angered him at another time. That is, if he had energy left to spare in getting upset; he didn't, so he continue on his way, his steps faltering but yet covering ground. That was good. Really good.

But not enough.

He didn't know how long he traveled; his mind was too busy keeping his body from falling apart in the merciless rain, making sure his organs continued to work steadily. His vision began to go hazy at the edges and his stomach growled with hunger, protesting for the lack of food. In another occasion he would have scoffed at his own deteriorated state, but not this time. This time he was too drained to even formulate a single thought, much less be pissed about the dilemma he had in his hands.

He could either drop to the muddy ground dead or keep on going and then die.

Neither option fit his plans, so stubbornly, he ignored everything around him, fixing solely on his purpose, and that was his mistake.

Had he looked at his surroundings with care, he would have noticed the tramp he was getting himself into quite literally.

When the explosive tags activated, he didn't have time to evade them all.

The next thing he knew, his seal burned and he gripped the place where his shoulder met with his neck, panting as he tried to get up from his fallen place in the ground where moments ago the force of the explosion had forced him to retreat.

The hissing of another tag getting ready to go off to his right alerted him and Sasuke jumped away, his quivering muscles making him fall yet again, unable to hold his weight up any longer.

Oh, how the mighty Uchiha survivor has fallen, a dark part of his mind cackled with mirth.

Sasuke hadn't betrayed the Village Hidden in the Leaves and beat his best friend just to be blown to pieces in foreign territory, so he moved with all his reminding strength to avoid getting killed.

He landed on all fours, the smoke of the paper bombs dispersing with his motion. Scarlet bright eyes, no longer onyx, scanned the clearing swiftly for an enemy...and found it.

A figure ran toward him fifteen yards away with such an agility through the mud that its feet wouldn't have touch the ground for all he knew.

Sasuke drew a kunai from his back pouch and got into his fighting stance, gritting his teeth to stop the cries of agony that desired to escape him as Orochimaru's mark throbbed.

Instead of attacking, like Sasuke expected the new incomer to do, the figure stopped a few feet away from him, also in a stance he'd never seen before.

"Who are you and what is your business here?"

Sasuke opened his mouth to tell this individual he wasn't a threat but the Uchiha common sense, aka pride, kicked in and he sneered. "Move out of my way," he ordered with the coldest voice he would muster, flickering black-crimson eyes narrowed dangerously.

The ninja in front of him acted as if he hadn't heard anything, and Sasuke scowled, his survival instinct the only thing maintaining him on his feet.

A glaring contest began, both adversaries matching each other up and looking for openings.

Sasuke's enemy wore a white mask with red adornments in the form of splashed blood that went all the way up his nose; his headband for Rain was slashed in the middle and covered one of his eyes, remaining him of Kakashi, but unlike the Copy Ninja, this person's hair was mid-lenght and blond...Wait, was that blue-black?

He frowned slightly, his kunai raised and concentrated in what he was observing. His Sharingan flickered to life once again –he hadn't notice when it had turned otherwise–, and that's when he took note of the genjutsu the male was using...No, not male, it was a girl, a young brunette with a uniquely white, pupiless eye.

_Byakugan_.

His brain screamed the doujutsu's name and the words came out before he could think them through, "You're a Hyuuga."

The slight widening of a visible eye was the only acknowledgment he received before he made the first move in an attempt to catch her off-guard.

Their weapons clashes so hard sparks of friction were created, the clang ringing through the rain in the empty clearing.

Reddish black met pale lavender white, so close Sasuke could feel her breathe, before they backed off, pushed by each other's force, though Sasuke noticed, to his annoyance, that he had gotten the worst of the small encounter.

The girl held her sai by the black leather handle, the three pointy, deadly tips managing to luster even in the darkening evening.

Her brow furrowed and then she said, slowly, testing, "Uchiha Sasuke-san."

Sasuke couldn't help but give her a mocking smirk. "'San'? You're too polite to your enemies, and that'll get you killed one of these days."

"That's not going to happen." It was said so low he barely caught it, and once he did, he scoffed. Whatever. He didn't have time for this.

"Get out of my way, Hyuuga. I won't say it again," he warned.

"State your business," she repeated, not giving in to his demands, her fingerless-gloved hand glowing with chakra and transmitting it to the sai.

'_Who did she think she was?'_

"Who are you?" Sasuke asked neutrally, stepping closer.

The girl didn't react, only stared at him with an unblinking eye that was starting to unnerve him.

I have to end this.

Electricity began to form on his right harm, the sting of it ignored as he molded enough chakra to end this for once and for all.

"I warned you, but you didn't listen," he muttered and attacked.

Or tried to.

He froze when the piercing of small injections enters his skin, targeting the nerve beside his neck. His knees wobbled and he fall to the ground not for the first time that day, his Chidori dying.

The corner of his eye gave him a peek of senbon sticking out of his body and he winced.

"You're in a very bad shape, Uchiha-san," the unknown Hyuuga stated softly now crouching in front of him.

"I don't need your damn observations. Get the hell away from me," he snarled.

"You won't get far," she added, his words un-minded. "You will die."

Sasuke watched from his peripheral vision the pulsing veins on her cheeks, radiating chakra, an energy he needed and scowled. "You really...are a Hyuuga, eh?" he wheezed.

"I am," she replied simply, her voice a carees in the wind, her Byakugan roaming his body. "Your chakra is depleted. Using it with that technique you just did could have killed you."

He snorted, a faint sound, but a snort nonetheless. "What do you care?"

He tried his muscles, experimenting to find which ones worked and which ones didn't.

He was so weary and sick of walking. Now that he was lying on the squishy ground, he didn't want to get up. If he thought about it, dying of chakra exhaustion was sort of pathetic, and though he really didn't want to support the girl's claims, he had to admit they were true.

Who was she, anyway?

Was she a runaway ninja? She had the Byakugan, a blood limit that belonged to Konoha. Had she _stolen_ it? What was she covering with that mask and headband anyway?

"I will allow you to move a little," she informed him, her eyes glancing at him with slight...worry?

"I..I thought you would kill me." Although his eyes were dropping and his muscles were refusing to respond, he still found it in him to mock her.

If the girl was offended, she didn't let on. "I do not kill, Uchiha-san," the girl said. "But after this, you won't see me again."

The sensation of being able to move, if just a bit, came rushing to him, and he didn't waste time.

So he quickly reached out for her. The girl, thinking that he was going to punch her, moved her head away in a reflex, but Sasuke wasn't going to fight her again. He was beat, weak, he couldn't put up much of a fight if he tried either way, he knew that much.

However, if he wasn't going to see her 'again', at least he wanted to know just what the hell this girl looked like, and if he had the chance, perhaps find her and punish her for her insolence one day in the future.

The top of her mask came down in a swift motion, and he was left to stare at a perplexed Hyuuga Hinata, ex-heiress of the Hyuuga clan, and one of the original Rookie Nine.

The _missing_ and _proclaimed dead_ Hyuuga Hinata.

The Hyuuga recovered quickly and her face crumbled in distress, as if something dreadful was about to happen. "Y-you really shouldn't have...done that, Uchiha-san" she whispered faintly before she landed a blow to the back of his head and everything went black.

**,**

In the distance, a figure encased in the shadows of the closest trees at the edge of the clearing watched the scene with unmoved gray eyes, lips pressed in a loose line of expressionless, the bright red clouds against a black coat –the only color in the depressed dullness of the surroundings – a beacon of blood in the darkness. A second later, the person was gone, the space it had occupied now pooling with the never-ending rains of Amegakure.

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**A/N**: I couldn't help but write this down. A new idea, yay. I was supposed to finish _Nightmares_ first before starting another SasuHina but naaaah. I'll upload that story tomorrow, maybe (i'm almost done). I actually like where this story will go and I hope you do too :D. I'm trying a lot of new ideas I've never seen in any other fictions, so do tell me if you find repetitions. And nothing is what it seems, so keep that in mind!

Review please?

-Nov 24, 2013


	2. Chapter 2: The Missing Heiress

Chapter 2: The Missing Heiress

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She knew she was in big trouble.

And when she said 'big', she meant _huge_ trouble.

Hyuuga Hinata, missing ninja of Konoha for the last several months, sighed and fidgeted with the hem of her shirt in nervousness, shifting position in her sleeping-bag so she could face the dark ceiling and keep berating herself.

How had she gotten herself into this mess?

Uchiha Sasuke was going to kill her, bring her back to life, torture her, and then throttle or burn her with his Katon jutsus, whichever met his fanciful mind, and then kill her for a second time only to repeat the frightening process all over again for mere enjoyment and spite.

She stole a glance at the bedroll beside hers –no. not at the bedroll, more like at the boy inside it –and quickly turned away, covering her face with her hands.

The moment she had heard her explosive tags activate by an unknown trespasser a week ago, dread had embraced her with its cold claws.

Her human brain had conjured every single scenario possible, each going from normally bad to epically worse, and in all of them she ended up chained and dragged from her current hideout.

The ex-heiress had expected a vengeful ninja from the Village Hidden in the Waterfall, not an equally frightening Konoha ninja walking through her training camp unannounced.

And to make matters worse, it had to be him.

Uchiha. _Sasuke_.

Rookie of the Year; genius; prodigy; survivor of the Uchiha Massacre effectuated six years ago; possessor of the deadly Sharingan; member of Team 7; loner often pursued by females; Naruto-kun's friend and teammate...

The list could have gone on and on until Hinata gave herself a migraine, but all she could focus on was two _small_ but delicate facts, facts that would save her life. Or end it just as quick.

One: Uchiha Sasuke was powerful.

How powerful?

Very powerful.

She had been lucky when they fought; he was weakened and wounded, which made her wonder what had happened to his team. Surely, he must have been on mission with Team Seven. But if he was alone...that only made him easy prey to hunt. With the help of her Byakugan, she had seen the low reserves of ki running through the boy's chakra pathways. Anybody, perhaps even a fresh genin from the academy, could have captured him.

And this only brought her back to Dreaded Fact Number Two, which stated that she had, kind of, maybe, like, you know,..._kidnapped_ him.

Well, sort of.

Hinata groaned, her cheeks burning to such a high degree she could have lit up the entire abandoned house.

If anybody were to find out –no, more likely _when_ –, she would be screwed. All her careful crafted plans would dissolve, all her hard work, the months of hiding and living the life of a runaway, all the things she had manage to built as she moved from Elemental Country and other territories, _everything_.

_My freedom._

Gone.

Destroyed.

Taken away from her by sheer force. _Again_.

All due to a boy whom she hadn't spoken to but a few sentences over the years and was, by the way, sleeping not even three feet away from her, right where she could keep watch without requiring too much effort.

His pale skin stood out in the darkness of her hideout, the blackness of his hair indistinguishable from the shadows casted by the night. His chest rose with deep breathing but his expression didn't seem to be relaxed. It was tense as he slept, unhappy. The diverse senbon she had attacked him with days ago to keep him from moving were no longer inserted in his flesh. She was currently allowing his body to rest and charge up with energy and chakra, but once his reserves were half-way recovered, she would have to cut his flow to keep him helpless.

She didn't want to do it, she didn't want to have him here, but he was a danger, an enemy that needed to be thrown away from her path.

_I have no choice,_ she reminded herself, closing her eyes and trying to get some sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day, and she needed her strength just in case she found any more Konoha lurking around. It was both likely and unlikely that there were, but if she had bumped with Uchiha Sasuke, the most unlikely person to ever come into her life, well, she couldn't drop her guard.

_He forced my hand. He found my identity...He shouldn't have done that. I was willing to let him leave, I gave him a chance. He didn't take it. He knows my whereabouts and must have information concerning Konoha. Information I need...and information I can't allow him to give. I can't let him go now._

She couldn't afford to let him go and ruin her plans, her life.

With her resolve hardened (and a tiny spoonful of guilt to go with it), the missing heiress of Konoha slept and dreamed of obsidian glaciers watching her with resentment.

**/*\**

**.**

His eyes wouldn't open.

His eyelids felt like concrete, heavy and unmoving, and he forced himself to lift them. His feeble attempts met failure.

The endless _tap_, _tap_ the rain created as it splashed against a hard surface was muffled slightly by a barrier, a barrier made out of...metal. Metal and wood, he guessed by the different echoes the materials caused.

He felt no cold, and that came both as a relief and as a confusing realization.

Something warm and soft was draped over him body, keeping his temperature in a comfortable and cozy state.

It...it felt good.

He didn't remember the last time he'd ever felt comfortable in his surroundings but then again, his mind felt blurry and unbalanced. Maybe staying down would do him some sort of benefit.

That was his train of thought until he remembered just where he was. Or, to be precise, where he wasn't.

He tried to sit up, but his muscles were locked. With unimaginable effort, he managed to finally flutter his eyes open...only to instantly close them.

Headache, he groaned mentally.

His mind thought fast, swirling with facts and past observations to give birth to a theory.

He was supposed to have reached Orochimaru's base. But in the way there...

Paper bombs. Rain. Pain. Exhaustion.

A fight.

Byakugan.

A Hyuuga.

A _dead_ Hyuuga, at that.

But now he was alone,there was no rain, no weariness, no one with him, or at least his chakra didn't seem to sense anyone –

A pair of arms crushed his believes and Sasuke sucked in a sharp breath as he was placed in the position he had wanted before. His back hit a hard surface – a wall, he presumed – and he blearily made out the shape of a figure crouching in front of him

"You're a-awake," a voice sighed and Sasuke froze. Not like he wasn't already, but the soft female voice made his mind halt in its rush.

Wait a minute. He wasn't alone.

Slowly, he lifted his lids, careful in allowing his orbs to adjust to the dim light that nonetheless hurt, and came face to face with _her_.

Indigo blue locks reached her shoulders, fanning softly against her covered face. Her mask – this time black colored – hid her features, her Rain head protector covering her left eye. A navy blue turtleneck hugged her torso and dark gray cargo pants hung loosely from her hips. Fingerless gloves were on her hands, the tips of her nails visible but not by much. Nothing really had changed, except the dark green scarf around her neck, but what really stood out was her lavender eye, tinted a metallic, melted mercury in the lack of light in the room and a sharp contrast with all the other mourning colors.

"Hyuuga," he stated normally as if he saw her everyday.

He didn't.

Hn.

"Uchiha-san," she greeted back.

Sasuke tried to get up and that's when he noticed that his hands and ankles were tied by a very odd-looking rope. He scowled. "What is the meaning of this?"

The girl sat back on her heels. "Let u-us go to the point, yes?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, not liking where this –'whatever _this_ was – was going.

"You have in-information regarding m-me. I can't allow you to l-leave now," she began.

Hm. So he had been right; Sasuke did not like where this was going. At all. "Get to it," he answered uninterested.

The brunette stood up, moving a beige bowl of steaming liquid with the side of her foo, trying to keep it a safe distance not to spill it. "I need to know what goes back in Ko-Konoha. Anything. And I need y-you to make an oath."

Sasuke's frown became more pronounced as she spoke. "What do I look like, a newspaper?" he asked. "Find what you want to know on your own. I'm not telling you anything." Not that he cared particularly about what she wanted to begin with. If she had her eyes on Konoha, whatever. He didn't care.

The girl didn't look surprised, if a little crestfallen, even behind the mask. She might hid behind it but her eyes, the visible one, that is, was an open book of emotions. "I was afraid y-you'd say that. I didn't wa-want to do t-this the hard way –"

"What can you do to me?" he sneered.

The girl's eyes moved to the side as if unsure. "I-I'll –"

Sasuke smirked and didn't bother to hide his amusement and confidence. _Knew it._ "There's nothing you can do to me, Hyuuga. Admit defeat and let me go."

Hinata's mind buzzed. What could she do to him? She had hoped to force the information out of him but he was right. There was nothing she-

Wait, she halted. She _could_ do something.

Licking her dry lips from behind the cloth of her mask, she sent a small prayer to whatever deity listening to her mind and asked fervently not to stutter.

Apparently, some powerful beings were feeling merciful because her request was fulfilled.

"I'll leave you to starve."

Woah. That had sounded less sadistic inside her head.

Sasuke's smug smirk fell immediately, giving Hinata the desired effect.

Black, almond-shaped eyes narrowed in a glare that would have killed her on the spot had his eyes been lasers. "You wouldn't dare." The words were spoken slowly, deadly, as if challenging her in proving him wrong, in contradicting him.

Hinata swallowed unnoticeably –or at least she was hoping he hadn't notice –and stood her ground, her insides quivering in uneasiness. Uchiha Sasuke was...truly frightening from a distance, but now that she had him up close...

The boy was terrifying.

A very big and rational part of her was frantically screaming at her to get away, convincing her into give in to the Uchiha's demands. But she couldn't do that._ I worked too hard to let him destroy me_. "T-try m-me," she couldn't help but trip over her words. She fought the urge to wince when a flash of red appeared in his eyes.

_His tenketsu are coming undone. I'll have to seal them again._

"You can't do that," he retorted. "That's ridiculous," but what he was really thinking ran more along the lines of 'that's torture!'. Could anybody blame him? He was dying of hunger here!

Hinata's hands clasped together in an attempt to stop her fingers from shaking, not wanting to let Sasuke know just how right he was. She couldn't let him die just because she felt like not sharing her food but he didn't know that and what he didn't know couldn't hurt him. Not really, right?

Oh, why did she have to have such a meek heart? She had to at least _pretend_ she was serious about her threat.

She fixed him with her best glare, which, she guessed, wouldn't have scared a bunny had she given it her best shot. Her thoughts were proved true when her glower did _not_ faze the Uchiha one bit. For his part, he looked like the very definition of indifference. "I c-c-can."

A raised eyebrow was her response, disbelief clear in the simple gesture.

She tried hardening her face the way she had seen Kiba do when he was angry or exasperated and saw the Uchiha's lip twitch, his onyx eyes gleaming with slight mirth.

He was laughing at her attempts, it hit her with a start and Hinata was all of the sudden very glad her mask and head-protector covered three fourths of her face or else Sasuke would have been a very unwanted witness to her unhelpful blush.

This did not help her increase in self-confidence.

The raven-haired teenager most likely caught hold of her thoughts because he didn't hesitate to comment."So much for that glare," he drawled snidely. Was that a breathy chuckle she heard?

"The only thing a-allowed for you will b-be a cup of wa-water a day," she declared, ignoring his taunt, and hoped she sounded absolute.

This only seemed to amuse the Uchiha further. "You're really serious, I gather." It was meant to be a question though he certainly didn't make it sound like one. His tone was suddenly very sarcastic and dark, making Hinata cringe.

He wasn't believing her. She bit her lower lip and turned away from the Uchiha.

"Where are you going?" he asked suspiciously.

Hinata didn't respond, just took the bowl of vegetable soup and opened the door. "Y-your information for f-food. Deal?"

"No," he deadpanned.

"B-b-but you didn't even think a-about it!" she accused and would have covered her mouth at her boldness had her hands not been busy holding a meal.

"_No,"_ he emphasized, leaving no place for an argument.

Hinata was falling in love time and time again with her dear mask for it was now hiding her trembling lip.

This is not going to be as easy as I imagined, she thought and took a deep breath. "No wa-water, then," she conceded and fought the urge to run out of the room before she changed her mind. Instead she walked as if nothing were the matter, leaving a very smug Uchiha behind.

A very amused, smug, _and_ smirking Uchiha.

_How interesting..._

**/*\**

**.**

Not interesting. No.

Not at all.

He couldn't believe it. She had really done it.

That Hyuuga freak! How could she?!

_When I get my hands on her, she will be beginning for mercy, this I swear. She'll cry and kneel and cry some more like an over-dramatic little twerp! I'll Chidori her!_

His stomach growled in total agreement with his vengeful, twisted thoughts and he allowed his head to hang low, strands of dark hair covering his dangerously twitching eye.

Sasuke was, to put it to a very small extent and in words that would keep the Daymo's wife from fainting with its complex savagery, beyond _outraged_.

And true to Hyuuga's word several days ago, starved as well.

At first, when he realized the Hyuuga wasn't coming back for a while, he decided to sleep. Sleep would be good, though he wished he could have spent his time training instead.

Didn't matter. He was stuck for the time being. No big deal, besides, once under Orochimaru's tutelage, he would gain strength and become powerful. There was nothing to worry about.

Powerful? His mind scoffed. Sure. Look around you, it mocked. You, the mighty Uchiha, kidnapped by a mousy Genin you thought a loser!

He had to admit (although sourly) that he had underestimated the girl. If she had manipulated the entire Hyuuga clan into declaring her dead, then surely she was more powerful than she let on. Or at the very least cunning.

The clever little rodent-!

Sasuke was miserable, but he wasn't about to start screaming and give that Hyuuga the satisfaction of hearing him, so he pressed his lips together and gathered his anger, fueling it further until he felt like burning the entire place down.

She was going to pay once he got rid of the damn chakra restrainers. And pay oh so dearly.

He was so hungry the mention of ramen –ramen! – made him salivate Naruto-style. There had to be some law in the ninja world that declared such action an unforgivable sin, he just knew it.

Or maybe that was his insane mind talking gibberish in its delirium for food.

His stomach tightened painfully and he growled in frustration.

The minutes seemed so endless they drove him mad. The only thing keeping him from shouting was his pride, and he had a lot of it to keep him going.

The door to his room groaned and feather-light steps entered.

He didn't bother to look up. There was no need. He already knew who it was.

"What do you want, Hyuuga?" he snarled, his parched throat giving a rougher, more intimidating edge to his words.

"Um," he could imagine her looking down at the ground, like she always did back in Konoha. It was rare when he'd found himself watching her back then and rarer still that he remembered some of her shy antics. He, however, was not about to look from the spot on the floor he had decided to torture with his glare to check if she was

"Speak up," he snapped. His patience was non-existent at this point and he was in a very very bad mood. Not that she was helping in making it better.

Getting abducted by a lesser being (in his mind) would do that to you.

"I-I brought you food," she answered softly, not at all afraid of his harsh commands this time.

Well. That much was obvious by the sneaking smell of cooked rice and...tomato soup?

The latter was just too much – and too damn unbelievable – to expect and would definitely be a low blow (he would never admit this though) to his grumbling hunger if it ended up being something else entirely.

Awkward silence in Hinata's part.

"I," she paused. "I h-hope you li-like what I made."

No answer from the self-proclaimed Avenger.

Hinata shifted her weight to her left leg and placed a tray on the floor, by the door, and waited.

More silence.

"I-if you're not hu-hungry –"

"Not _hungry_?" He all but screamed. Was this girl kidding? She had to be. She just had to. Or else she didn't value her life because once he got out of this predicament, her deceased status might just come true. "You left me here to starve, for what, _days_, and that's what comes out of your mouth?"

She blinked. "I-it's been only a d-day."

Oh.

It was Sasuke's turn to _almost_ blink – but he refrained from doing so. The mere thought of doing something the Hyuuga had done before him was just too degrading.

He, however, felt shame beginning to burn its way up to his cheekbones and he nonchalantly ducked his head, huffing an annoyed, "Whatever."

"W-well –"

He cut her off.

"If you think I'm going to beg, you're talking to the wrong person," he said smoothly, not missing a beat and not about to look at her. It was childish, he knew, but he was too angry to care at the moment.

"I wasn't going –"

He interrupted her yet again. "Just leave me alone. And leave the food here," he added, now finally settling his gaze on her just to make sure she got to see how serious he was about the last order.

"Are you s-sure you don't n-need –"

"Yes, now go!" he barked coldly, ash-black eyes tinted with red.

The Hyuuga girl didn't need to be told twice and she did as she was told. Guess she was still scared of him.

"Stupid Hyuuga," he murmured under his breath when she was gone.

His protesting hunger nagged at him and he turned to the tray of food, his self-control the only thing _barely_ keeping him from lunching himself across the room at the tempting contents.

Then a thought struck him like lightning.

How the _hell_ was he going to eat if his hands were tied?

Sasuke's right eye returned to its dangerous twitching and he bit back the string of curses at the tip of his tongue, ready to be roared into the world.

So much for being a genius.

**/*\**

**.**

A shadow fell over the headstone of the deceased Hyuuga heiress.

Unruly, blond hair blew in the breeze, shinning gold in the light the sun provided.

Blue cerulean eyes observed the tomb quietly and he bowed on his knees, placing a thin, humble-looking bouquet of flowers beside the name of the person buried there.

"Hey, Hinata-chan," Uzumaki Naruto whispered, his words so unusually soft and low the air, merciless as it could be, stole them away the moment they left his mouth.

There was no answer but that one of the wind howling, banging against the surrounding trees.

"Ero-Sennin came to visit me the other day and said...He told me we're leaving soon to train out of the village and make a decent ninja out of me. As if," he scoffed playfully and crossed his arms over his chest, a light pout on his lips. His face fell as he looked at the empty cemetery. "I came to say...good-bye, ya know? And," he took a breath. "And to thank you." He looked up and forced a smile that didn't reach his eyes nor his heart. "Thank you...for believing in me. For seeing me as someone strong." He bowed, his hands trembling, his lips shaking as he contained his tears. "Y-you're the v-very first –" _Don't cry, Uzumaki, don't you dare cry_, he supplicated inwardly as he cleaned his suddenly stuffed throat. "The first to acknowledge me," he finished weakly.

He let his words sink in as if she really were there.

"I don't know when I'm coming back. Maybe in a few years." He sighed. "Sasuke-teme is gone, too, did you know that?" He paused and laughed drily. "You probably do, don't you? Don't you good souls go to Heaven and spy us from above a puffy cloud or something –"

"Talking to Hinata again, Naruto?" a gravelly voice asked behind him.

"Kyaahh!" Naruto screamed as he jumped back and fell on his rear.

Aburame Shino merely raised a visible eyebrow while Inuzuka Kiba bursted out laughing.

"You should see your face! It's blue with fright, man!"

Naruto felt his cheeks burn with embarrassment and he turned away from them in an attempt to hide his blush. "Hmph!" He got up and brushed himself up from the dead grass clinging to his orange clothes.

Kiba eyes him. "You leaving?"

Naruto looked at him and smiled sheepishly. "Yeah." He pretended to glare. "You guys ruined my awesome speech to Hinata-chan. I'll just come tomorrow," he said but all of them knew he was just trying to give them time alone with their 'dead' friend. He waved and turned away, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Both males of Team Kurenai stared after the blond even after he disappeared into the distance.

"We should tell him," Kiba finally spoke.

Shino shook his head in disagreement. "Iie. It's not our place. She chose not to say anything, not even to him."

A long pause.

"I wish...," Kiba began, oddly mournful and stern, his voice breaking through the silence that had ensued. "I wish she had told us. I thought...I really thought we were a team." He turned to face the Aburame and the bug-user didn't have to ask whom Kiba was referring to. "Were we really a team, Shino?"

Shino glanced at his friend behind his dark shades and didn't hesitate to respond. "We were," he assured him firmly. "We were Team 8, don't you forget that, Kiba."

"I just don't understand," the Inuzuka growled in frustration, running a hand through his exposed wild hair, his eyes scrunched up in confusion and anger. "We were friends. What happened to us?! She was supposed to trust in _us_. I told her that if she needed anything, to come to me, to you, to Kure-sensei, dammit! We were her family, _her family_, for goodness's sake!" he exclaimed, his frame trembling, fists clenching in helplessness.

"It couldn't be helped, you know that," Shino replied smoothly. When Kiba couldn't keep his composure, it was up to him to stay focused and suppress his emotions like an ideal Aburame heir. "There was nothing we could do to help her. We failed her, in our own way."

Kiba scowled at the ground and Akamaru whimpered, overcome with his master's feelings, his little head poking cutely out of Kiba's jacket. "Damn that clan. Damn them all," he seethed. "If it wasn't for her bloody father and cousin, she could still be here, with us, in Konoha. She wouldn't be gone."

Shino remained silent, his hidden face thoughtful and sad. His stoic and serious demeanor fell, replaced by worry and anxiety that although subtle, were there. "Perhaps so," he answered softly after a moment's pause. "But although she didn't tell us anything, I believe she wished to protect us."

Kiba gritted his teeth. "Protect us from what?! From those bastards she had as family?!"

"Yes," Shino answered, ignoring Kiba's colorful vocabulary. "Hinata is not a selfish person, Kiba. You know her as well as I do. She must have had her reason for what she did," he said quietly, looking at the birds taking flight as a strong breeze racked the tree they'd been resting on.

Kiba barked a humorless laugh. "She's too damn selfless, that's what she is. I would like to hate her for it, but that's what makes her Hinata." He smiled bitterly. "And Hinata can't be hated, at least not by people with common sense."

Shino nodded curtly. "The kikaichu I placed on her..." he began, almost inaudibly. Kiba didn't need to lean closer to hear what he was saying, though, and just observed him from the corner of his eye as the male Aburame continued. "Hinata...got rid of it, somehow, but it told me she's well. I set several others on her trail."

Kiba let out a breath he'd been holding like he always did no matter how many times Shino told him the same old news. "That's a relief," he sighed, his heart beating loudly in his ears. "I still can't believe you placed one on all of us." He suppressed a shiver that didn't go unnoticed by Shino, who said nothing. He was used to those reactions by now. At least Kiba wasn't screaming like a girl...

"However," Shino continued. "It's not going to be easy. It surely hasn't been. The rain...it washed away her scent and the pheromones my female bug gave off, although powerful, can fade away with time. It's been months."

"Better than nothing," Kiba interjected. "I'm sure as hell glad you're such a shameless genius," he smirked but quickly sobered. "You're our only link to her now." Kiba's dark eyes darkened even more, his features rigid as he looked upon the stone with his female teammate's name on it written in fanciful calligraphy.

_Hyuuga Hinata_

_Will Not Be Forgotten._

He chuckled without humor. "I can't believe they couldn't afford to write something original, those good for nothing imbeciles," he mused out loud. "They really weren't her family at all."

"We were," Shino and him said in union.

"Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino, and Hyuuga Hinata, we were, and will continue to be no matter what the hell other people say, Team 8," Kiba proclaimed proudly, a ghost of a smile on his lips and for the first time in months, Aburame Shino chuckled.

They weren't like Team 7 and their complex, rather masochist relationships.

No. Team 8 had a very simple bond that was nonetheless strong. Much more stronger than people gave them credit for. There was no darkness, no rivalry between the members, just friendship and family love. Hinata was the little sister Kiba never got to have and the butterfly Shino wished to protect and set free. Yuhi Kurenai, the Jonin Genjutsu Mistress of Konohagakure no Sato –the only Yuhi left after her father's and brother's death –,was at the head of them all and was the calm, loveable mother Hinata and Shino never got the chance to grow up with since both their mothers were buried six feet underground. Mothers that no longer roamed the Earth.

Those mothers were gone, and although Inuzuka Tsume was perhaps the craziest, most juvenile female clan head the members of Team 8 had ever encountered and had yet to be endangered, she was a mother that created chaos in a sadistic but funny way that never fell short of entertaining and kept the three Genin's hearts warm.

When imminent chaos erupted in the Inuzuka household with a very feral Tsume chasing his 'pup', a.k.a, a very unfortunate Kiba, Yuhi Kurenai stepped in to keep the peaceful atmosphere that couldn't possibly be related to Kiba's reckless mother.

Yes, Team 8 had become a family, knowing each other's weak points and learning/thinking new ways of covering them. Each of them had grown in their one way thanks to the other, mentally and physically alike. They had sworn to keep themselves safe, had promised to always trust each other without hesitation.

And now all of that had vanished and come to a sudden, brutal halt the day the bastard known as Hyuuga Neji had been driven by hate and killed her.

Even though Kiba was well aware that Hinata was somewhere, alive, his mind sometimes tended to disagree.

Neji had murdered the gentle, soft, and merciful Hyuuga Hinata. He _had_, otherwise she couldn't have left them –Kurenai-sensei, Shino, and him.

The well-respected Hyuuga prodigy, adored by girls and envied by boys, had killed her spirit, her dreams, her hopes of becoming a strong kunoichi and a confident human being. Maybe she had run away to escape her 'uselessness' as she called it (something Kiba had often laughed about and assured her didn't exist). Maybe..._maybe_ she had run away to escape her cursed clan, the possessors of the all-seeing eye, and their awful traditions. Maybe she had finally had had enough and decided to break away her tormentors and out of her jail. Maybe she had snapped and left in a fit of overwhelming emotions, maybe she wanted her family to regret their treatment and the sins committed against her. Maybe she had been forced to run by some threat hanging over her head no one knew anything about. _Maybe_, _maybe_, _maybe_.

There were so many 'maybes' and 'what if's' he couldn't begin to think about all of them at the same time.

But whatever the right answer was, Kiba was not going to forget nor was he going to forgive.

No. There was no way in hell.

The Hyuuga Clan officially had the entire hate of the Inuzuka family. The short amount of time his mother had spent with Hinata had been sufficient for both females to interact and create their own mother-daughter relationship, as contrasting and odd as it was, but a bond nonetheless, and the members of the Inuzuka clan were nothing but loyal to their people and loved ones.

Liking Hinata in such a short amount of time was what Kiba called 'Hinata's Great Effect' (much to the girl's embarrassment); she was just too easy to love, so easy to please and tease, so easy to talk to and laugh with. Like her, there was no other, and Shino and Kiba knew this well. After all, they had fallen for it, just like Tsume and Hana, his older sister.

But now that she was gone, Tsume's respect for '_the mighty and powerful Hyuuga clan_' had disappeared as well. In its place, there was only resentment and disgust.

Suddenly, Akamaru's harsh, feral growls snapped him from his internal thoughts.

Kiba's head snapped to the left to see an approaching Neji heading their way, a bouquet of lilies hanging in one hand.

_Hinata's favorite flowers._

Kiba's eyes widened slightly before narrowing dangerously, glaring and unwelcoming as the Hyuuga prodigy approached. "What do you think you're doing here?" he snarled before Shino could stop him, standing in front of Hinata's tomb as if protecting it. He still found the fact that he hadn't killed him in their last mission hard to believe.

Neji didn't look intimidated by the Inuzuka and merely spared him a glance. "This is my family's grave; I should be asking you the same thing."

_Arrogant bastard_, Kiba thought venomously. If not for the hand that had fallen over his shoulder and Shino's beetles running over his body, draining him of chakra and keeping him in place, Kiba would have jumped and beheaded the Hyuuga in front of him by now.

"Oh really?" he commented, his voice dripping sarcasm. "Did you come to mock Hina-chan? Did you come to laugh at her death –a death _you_ caused?" he spat, his breath growing shorter and shorter the longer he stared at the boy he wanted to severely tear to diminutive pieces.

"I didn't kill her," Neji snapped, the veins around his eyes filling with chakra as his self-control flickered.

"If it hadn't been because of you, she would have had a chance at defending herself when she was attacked in the invasion! SHE WOULD HAVE LIVED!"

_She wouldn't be gone._

Neji's jaw clenched and his frost colored eyes froze and hardened even more. "Shut up, Inuzuka."

"Murderer!" Kiba ignored him. He'd never listened to orders before and he wasn't about to start now just because this piece of trash told him to.

"_Shut up._"

"Kiba," Shino's calm voice cut right through the Inuzuka's next provoking words. "It's time for us to be on our way. _Now_," he added when Kiba opened his mouth to protest.

Grudgingly, Kiba looked back at the angry Hyuuga and scoffed in utter disgust, his nose wrinkling as if he smelled something bad. "You're not worth my time, Hyuuga." With that said, he allowed Shino to steer him away.

The hand holding the light, purple flowers went slack, the lilies falling to the ground, some of them dragged away by the wind as he stared numbly at the tombstone in front of him.

Neji closed his eyes and allowed the bitterness of guilt to sweep over him as he fell to his knees the moment the two boys had left completely.

"They are right," he whispered thickly. "I killed _you_...don't you agree, Hinata-nee-sama?"

**/*\**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**A/N:**

I LIVE!

-I've always thought underneath all that 'I'mma kill my brother' attitude, there's a funny side to Sasuke. Hehe.

Phew, this story is so different from _Nightmares_ it took me 2 days to write everything down and get the right mood & tone in. It's been a while since I wrote for the genre of adventure.

*Anybody wondering what the heck Hime is doing in Amegakure? No? Not the slightest idea? If you do, share your theories.

Big thanks to : **Guest** #**1**, #**2**, #**3**, **Imafangirlsowhat**, **1**, **Hawkllama**, **Kibachow**, **Chew** **It Over With Twix**, **LoneWolfPack**, **Kinara23**, **Heliata**, & **Ro0w'z**! Your praises made me hurry and try to type this down ASAP.

*Apologies for the 1-month wait. Life has been chaos! But now...I'm free!

*I was to update in the 25th -.- But my internet...died. Cardiac arrest, also known as lack of Hotspot V_V

*One of you said the time-line was screwy. Huh, nope. It is not. Hinata's hair was long and blond in her genjutsu and she's not stronger than Sasuke; Sasuke was just spent and couldn't fight back. Plus, this isn't the original timeline anymore.

*And yes, I'm skipping the fillers. I just can't deal with them since Hinata was the led female in most of them (did you know that?) XD

-Published 12.27.13.

REVIEW, YES? :D What did you think?


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